French football’s top player Kylian Mbappe arrived in Cameroon on Thursday to a jubilant greeting from fans. His stay will include volunteering with deaf youngsters and visiting his father’s village.
The 24-year-old forward was met by hundreds of people, many of them were wearing the football uniform of his side, Paris Saint-Germain.
According to an AFP correspondent, they enthusiastically yelled his name as he left the airport in the nation’s capital Yaounde.
In his honor, a troupe of roughly 100 traditional dancers gave a performance. Before being driven away in an SUV with tinted windows, the football player waved to the crowd while being restrained by police.
“We are happy to see our brother from Cameroon. Vannel Kunde, a 16-year-old high school student, said, “We want to embrace him with open arms.
The multi-day visit by Mbappe, who is also the captain of France’s national team, will take place in a hotel complex owned by the Yaounde-based family of Yannick Noah, a former French tennis champion.
According to his itinerary, which was seen by AFP, he is scheduled to visit a school for children who are deaf and hard of hearing in the capital’s suburbs on Friday.
The son of Yannick Noah, retired NBA star Joakim Noah, is expected to play in the basketball game in which he will also participate. Later, he plays in a football game against FC Vent d’Etoudi of Cameroon’s second tier.
On Saturday, he travels to Douala, the nation’s financial center, to visit a school before traveling to Djebale, the village where his father Wilfried Mbappe was born. His father was a young man when he fled Cameroon for France, where he worked as a football coach.
“Follow in the footsteps of your ancestors”
According to a statement from his Paris-based company, Mbappe will get the chance to visit two schools in Yaounde and Douala that are supported by his own philanthropic organization, Inspired by KM.